Very nice kit. I would jump on that too but I need to do suspension work, been putting it off.

 

I ordered the sbcc kit. I'll follow up with how they are after install.

 

DEEP pockets I can’t wait to hear the review.

 

I’m running the SSBC v6 fronts with their rear 2 pistons. Not comparing apples to apples but no more seized pistons and trips with the camper are more relaxing. Went through 14 or so seized pistons and stuck on the side of the road a few times with rebuilt calipers. I did it for reliability not performance and would do it again.

 

Ordered Wednesday, still haven't shipped. I hope their customer service isn't like their shipping times. Maybe I'll get a set hot off the cnc?

 

I can’t wait to hear a review either. Superduty brakes have always been crap. Not sure it’s a disk/caliper issue though.

 

Caliper.

 

F150s have as many caliper issues or more but their brakes are phenomenal compared to supersdutys. I think it’s a booster issue or similar. Can’t wait to hear review of big brake kit

 

Weight changes things. There are many factors that go into the overall brake design, and specs depend on the vehicle's weight class. Although I can't comment on the later designs, my old company decided it didn't need vehicle testing anymore after 2008. Over the years, it seems that the targets for pedal effort skid points in the design have changed.

 

Weight kind of changes things.

Are you saying I'm fat?

 

Your truck is. OK, maybe beefy.

 

So after a week of waiting, I called ssbc to see when the order is expected to ship. They answered the phone promptly which I'm grateful for. Told me they would check with production manager, never called back. Sounds like they have no stock and are making as they get sales.

What do you all think? They went bankrupt 5-6yrs ago, bought by a private equity group and reopened. Should I cancel and run? Go with wilwood even though replacement parts are not easily available? Trust that ssbc is slow but decent?

 

Wait it out.
quality over quantity

 

Both my orders took a long time. First order before bankruptcy when the family still owned it and one order afterwards. Be patient as you said they don’t seem to have stock on the shelves and no matter who you order them from they are drop shipped from SSBC.

 

How long is long? Hopefully this gives others an expectation... I had none other than order and ship in a couple days...

 

3 weeks

 

So, yeah it took 2.5 weeks to get the kit. The parts were packaged well, and there was no obvious damage to the parts from shipping. I have a couple gripes about the part quality...

Both front calipers had blemishes which you can see in the picture. It doesn't affect the function, but for the $4500 list price i was expecting perfection.

One of the rotors has a high spot (ding) on the outside lip which I'll need to grind down or let it groove the brake pad. It's noticeable when running your finger across it.

These are small potato concerns, but to those considering the kit, don't expect it to be perfect.

 

On to the fun part... install..

Brakes teardown and install is quick and easy. The most difficult part and pain in the a$$ is the brake line. In order to install the brake line, you have to bend the hardline as the mounting orientation is 90deg difference. I couldn't clamp the extended stainless carli brake lines so I chose to bend the hardline after connecting the brake line as fluid leaks out rather quickly.

I'm not happy with the bends. I'm thinking about ordering another set of brake lines so I can heat the metal and get a better bend. It felt like I was going to crack the line or pinch the line at the block. You can see in the picture how far you have to twist the line, and the stainless lines aren't as forgiving as rubber when trying to twist them. I feel like this is the only way I'll get a good line up with the hardline. In the install directions picture they show the hardline nice and tight against the caliper. The hardline now is far from tight against the caliper. It clears the knuckle and doesn't hit the tire, but it will rub a little on the knuckle turning back and forth.

I'll post update when I finish the back. Time is slim during the week so it might be a few more days.. im juggling this and seadoo maintenance this week.

 

Any identifcation numbers on the brake pads?

 

I didn't look at the fronts,I didn't have much time so I was working as quickly as possible. Plus they came already installed in the pins so I didn't look that closely at it. I took a picture of the rear pads for you.

Bendix bxm-929-ff 784

Here's the install directions. They expect you to use the knuckle to bend the line. I laughed when I saw it. I'd like to see someone do a 90deg bend using their hands and the knuckle.. maybe the pictures were for another year, because the bends in the hardline for my 16 is a much bigger bend (a full 90deg) than what is pictured.

I edited the picture to be right side up but it keeps uploading upside down.

 

For $4500 I better get color instructions 🤣.

Seems like somebody dropped the rotors maybe? Still for that price you'd think they would package it according.

Hope the performance makes up for the headache with the lines.

 

For $4500 I better get color instructions 🤣.

Seems like somebody dropped the rotors maybe? Still for that price you'd think they would package it according.

Hope the performance makes up for the headache with the lines.

With 37s, the braking needs a little help. Although I didn't take any official measurements for braking, I did slam on the brakes doing 65mph before swapping them out. The brakes weren't even close to locking up. I told my wife I was going to do it, and she braced herself thinking it was going to stop something close to our sports cars. Afterward she laughed and said "that's all it's got?" It wasn't even enough to send you forward in the seat. The pads and rotors were in good condition, just the sticky caliper issue was the reason I went for it. Hoping it's a significant difference. I'll keep updating after the wear in period and I do a couple hard stops.

 

Thanks for the image of the pads. If they are doing it right, the formulation for the front and rear should be the same; I think they are.

With a stock rotor diameter, they use a Bendix higher-friction semi-met formulation, higher in friction than the stock pads.

If you are going to compare brake effectiveness, make sure you repeat your driving before you do not impress your wife with the truck's stopping ability, lol. Different formulations have different effectiveness/temperature curves. And I'd drive for a while to let the pads burnish into the rotors.

 

As an FYI, per Federal rules, all brake pads sold commercially in the USA must ID the Formulation, the pad design ID, and the cold and hot frictional value. Pad designs are registered under FMSI, Friction Materials Standards Institute. Cold is 200º-400ºƒ, hot is 300º-650ºƒ. 650ºƒ is not as hot as a friction material can get in a fade test, which simulates mountain grades. Depending on the brake design, including disc-disc and disc-drum, front pad temperatures can get to 1,200º to 1,500ºƒ, so the SAE J661 Chase test doesn't tell you everything. Also, friction materials can have a bell curve to their friction vs. temperature values. A stop at 100ºƒ pad temp can fall on its face as much as it can under 1,200ºf. Semi-mets and metallics have the most variation in the curve.

Bare steel/iron has an approximate friction coefficient of 0.32. It's why when you have pads with a frictional value of E, you don't notice when you shuck a friction puck off the steelback; it brakes the same.

 

Can’t wait for the performance review. One of the coolest mods out there

 

Found out why my parking brake sucked. It absorbed a lot of grease from when I had a leaking hub. Picked up some new shoes for $90 at Ford. There are 2 different sizes of shoes. Make sure you VIN check if you're getting new shoes.

Trimmed the shield top and bottom to fit the caliper. The backs were easy since the brake line is rubber from the leaf spring to caliper. No bending hardlines.

I'll update in a week or two once it's been through the paces...

From the wear-in on the fronts, it does appear that the brake pads cover less surface area on the rotor compared to stock. Maybe @TooManyToys can chime in with the performance aspect of less surface area...

 

Two of the rotors came this way...

 

Took the truck for a 40mi dpf burn. Thanks gov Newsome. Burned some fuel just to be more environmentally friendly. After 35mi I did a couple spirited stops. Yeah, huge difference. The initial bite is quick and at the top of the pedal whereas the stock brakes felt more of a slow gradual bite. Pushing down it will lock the tires up for sure. This is how these trucks should have been engineered.

Earlier I meant to say the wear on the rotor is narrower than the stock. Id have to measure the brake pads to see if it was actually less surface area.

Would I put this brake kit on again knowing what I know now? Absolutely. Not even a question. I should have done it earlier. It's probably in the ballpark of 50% better braking. It's definetly not twice as much (100%), but it's significantly better and I haven't completely stomped it yet.

 

Big shout out to @Kaakau620 for sending me down the rabbit hole and looking into these. I would have just tolerated it. Yeah the price is steep, maybe more than what some people would be willing to pay, but if you've got big wheels and tires, it's a must have due to the decrease you inherit with the larger rotational mass you have.

Now the only question is, was it the calipers? Rotors and pads? Obviously both together, but how much did each component contribute?

 

Rotors don't really contribute, but slotted give a little better initial bite when raining, and some gas relief if you have pads that don't have good thermal resistance.

Surface area of the pads alterer psi surface pressure, larger area lowers surface pressure. Calipers depend on the piston area. Larger piston surface area will require more volume/stroke out of the M/C, but give higher compression on the pads surface area per pounds pedal effort.

The fatory calipers on at least the 1999-2008 models are massively strong, preventing bridge and finger distortion, altough its tough to say if as good as bridged calipers. Can't say about the 2011+ calipers as I have no data on them.